A "wasshoi weekend" before Corona.
"weekend"
That sounds so good. It sounds exciting.
When I was still running the restaurant normally, every weekend I would get pumped and think, "It's going to be busy."
The time when we work hard is on the weekends to create "fun times" for our customers.
While checking the reservation book with the staff, occasionally taking a "Kyoleopin" (a tonic), I operate with a surge of adrenaline, saying "Let's do this!"
When I finished work, I was completely exhausted, and after a little wine I was able to fall asleep right away. That was my normal life.
However, with the recent shortened business hours and closures, I no longer work until I'm exhausted. Weekday nights and weekend nights are the same.
This is a bit bad.
Our work in the restaurant industry runs smoothly because we have time to say, "Wow! We're busy! But let's get this done!" (Although it would be tough if it was like that all the time.)
The experience of working in a hustle and bustle is especially important for a small, independently owned store like ours.
As you gain experience, you develop a sense for how many customers there will be and how many orders they will place, and how much preparation you need to do to make things go smoothly (in the future, AI may be able to do this sort of thing, but for now, I think that in a restaurant like ours, it's something we have to develop ourselves).
When a large number of customers come in, you can't find ideas on how to move efficiently in the midst of the hustle and bustle without actually trying. Each staff member struggles in their own position to find ways to speed up the pace. Then, the "key points" that each staff member finds are shared among the other staff members. This kind of PDCA is very important.
Once you've developed a good instinct and learned how to speed things up, you'll have more time on your hands even on busy weekends, and you'll be able to give just as much attention to your customers as you do during the week.
In other words, the experience of being in a hectic situation is very important in improving the store's performance (overall strength).
On the other hand, if the store is constantly idle, it will lose its vitality and it will become difficult to maintain performance.
Of course, the biggest problem for restaurants right now is that there are no customers and no sales.
However, I also think that "losing instincts" is a pretty big problem.
I haven't had a hectic weekend job in about a year and a half (it's rare, if anything). And now I'm on my third break. I guess my instincts are getting duller.
Financially, most restaurants are structured in such a way that they can only survive if they are busy.
There are times when we are bored during the week, so to make up for those times we have to be enthusiastic and energetic on the weekends.
However, considering the current situation, I am worried whether the world will really return to the lively mood it had before COVID-19.
At the same time, there is a great deal of concern: "It's been such a long time since we've been able to do lively sales while being attentive to customers, so I wonder if we'll be able to function properly and be okay."
They say that if you don't drive your car at least once a week, it's not good for the engine and transmission, and the battery will die out faster.
I think it's the same thing; it'd be scary if it rusted and stopped working when the time came.
What do you think, restaurant workers? I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who feel the same way.
Once we are able to resume business, I'd like to share these ideas with my staff and think about how we can create "our own kind of wasshoi that will make both customers and staff feel good."
Fun for this weekend.
Now, speaking of weekends, there's one more thing.
Recently, something exciting has happened on the weekends.
It is "seeing New Zealand wine purchased from the wine shop " Bokumo Wine " on social media."
This is always on the weekend. After all, wine is something you open on the weekend.
I think I use Instagram the most, followed by Twitter, and occasionally Facebook. When I come across a New Zealand wine, I smile and think, "Wow! I did it!"
This feels almost the same as when I see photos of my child doing well at a sports day taken by a dad friend.
I guess the expressions on the faces of children are definitely different when they are taken by themselves and when someone else takes their picture (proud parent).
Another thing that makes me happy is when people send me their thoughts and questions about the wine they try directly via messenger or DM, even though they don't post them on social media.
"The red wine I bought the other day felt heavy on its own, but it was delicious when paired with meat."
Or,
"Is that new wine set for a limited time? How long will it last?"
Or,
"New Zealand wine sparked a wine boom in our home!"
Or something like that.
I couldn't help but smile.
I'm so happy that I want to write lots of replies.
However, I'm afraid that a reply that's too long might be annoying, so I try to restrain myself and keep my reply to roughly the same number of characters as the message I received.
I think this kind of interaction is similar to a face-to-face conversation at a restaurant. It's really gratifying and fun to receive a direct response.
We want Bokumo Wine to be a store that communicates with customers, not just a place to sell wine. So we really appreciate messages like this.
Of course, I'm still a beginner, so I'm sure there are some things I'm lacking. If you have any criticisms or suggestions on how I could do better, please let me know.
The weekend was an event.
I like to hold small events in the store, so I held a variety of events on weekends.
Live music performances, DJ events, talk events, and more.
The photo above was taken when we hosted a wine event for winery owners from New Zealand.
The people in the photo are Kevin Judd and his wife Kimberly, the owners of the winery " Greywacke ." Kevin is known as one of the people who has contributed greatly to spreading New Zealand wine around the world, and is an essential part of any discussion of New Zealand wine (he was one of the founding staff at Cloudy Bay and served as head winemaker for many years).
For me, Greywacke was what got me hooked on New Zealand wine. An importer introduced me to this wine over 10 years ago, and I was blown away when I tried it for the first time!
I thought, "Ah, this is a special taste." I realized that NZ Sauvignon Blanc is the only one that has a distinct personality from the others.
Then, a few years later, I actually went to New Zealand, visited his winery, and had the opportunity to tour the vineyards and winery.
Later, when Kevin and his wife came to Japan, they visited Bokumo and introduced us to their wines while interacting with our customers.
Now that I think about it, this Kevin event was pretty crowded (this was in November 2018).
It was truly a luxurious experience to sample all of Greywacke's wines while Kevin himself introduced us to them and gave us his commentary.
And now, with Bokumo Wine, we have created a set that allows you to enjoy all types of Greywacky in the comfort of your own home, something that we absolutely wanted to do when we opened our wine shop.
▶ Complete set of all 7 "Greywacky" products
The description at the link below gives an idea of what the content is like, so please take a look if you'd like.
If you like white wine, especially white wine with a little sweetness, I think you will enjoy this. It's a bit pricey, but the wines are all of good quality. We're having a 10% off sale.
Next year, when we are able to travel freely again, I would like to invite people from the wineries to hold an event again.
Whether through online shopping or in person, we want to do everything we can to turn your "ordinary weekend" into a "special weekend."
